Smart & Sustainable Water Solutions Bipin Gangadharan, Pentair

Could you give me a brief history of Pentair and how it has become the water solution giant of today?

Pentair was founded in July 1966 in Arden Hills, Minnesota, as a five-person partnership with the purpose of manufacturing highaltitude research balloons. Penta means 5 and that’s how the company was named Pentair. The business slowly evolved into newsprint and then into power tools. Pentair exited the tools business with the sale of its power tools group in October 2004 to Black & Decker for nearly $800 million. The company has evolved and grown through acquisition and continued to acquire and invest in new businesses which were related to water. In 1997, Pentair acquired the General Signals Pump Group and various water related companies, then after the acquisition of Essef in 1999 and Wicor in 2004, Pentair took its first step into the Pool business. Pools are only one part of Pentair’s business. Commercial pumps, residential food and beverage filtration also form a large part. Pentair supplies the water filters to McDonald’s, Starbucks and 7 Eleven to name a few. Everpure is now one of Pentair’s leading brands in water filtration.

In Australia, we have around 280 employees presently under various business functions and globally, Pentair has 12,000 employees. In Australia our business is mostly related to residential/commercial pumps, filtration and pools. Pentair also owns the iconic Australian commercial pump brand Southern Cross pumps.

When did you enter the pool and spa industry?

I started my career in 1998 in the Pool/HVAC industry. I was involved in the sales and construction of swimming pools in Oman in UAE. It was a big commercial pool market rather than residential and mostly high end. That’s where I learnt about commercial pool fountain design and construction.

After that in 2001, I joined a global pool equipment manufacturer as their South Asia and Middle East representative. I was based in India, promoting pool filtration equipment and above ground pools in the assigned region. Then I joined Pentair in 2006 as the Head of South East Asia, Japan and Korea, for the Aquatic division. A lot was happening at Pentair and my job was to establish Pentair in the growing market. I enjoyed many successes in my region. While in the Asian market, I worked on various key projects like the Marina Bay Sands Casino sky pool and Lego Land Malaysia, where we supplied Pentair pool equipment. I’ve had some fun along the way! Especially working across so many cultures. This market taught me a lot.

It was time for me to settle down and that’s when Pentair offered me a transfer to Australia in 2012. Initially I was head of the pool division, but my role has expanded and now I manage Residential / Irrigation pumps (Onga) in addition to the Aquatics business. My current title is Head of Sales for ANZ.

I have learnt a lot across my career working in various countries. I have met so many types of customers and learnt about different cultures. In the end, it’s all about building trust and delivering on your promise. There are so many different ways to do business but in the end, if you can win the trust of a customer, you’ve got a customer for life, and also a friend.

Pictured Left to Right: IntelliCenter Automation, IntelliFlo VF Console, Onga IntelliFlo

What changes have you seen over the years?

The market has become much more professional and knowledgeable. The internet has really changed things and the way we traditionally did business in the past. Nowadays the customer already knows what they want. They are more educated and they have done a comparison between products and brands, so it just comes down to pricing, quality and service. The market is far more tech-savvy. In Australia, Internet of Things (IoT) is a big thing. Everything is based on an app and home automation is the new word. We will see a lot of changes in the coming years.

There is good potential for growth as a supplier or manufacturer, as long as you can keep up with the changes in technology. We are all forced to be innovative. Technology can change within a few months. Change is expensive and investment in technology involves a lot of time and money. But that’s how business grows. So the changes are mainly technological, but also the customers’ buying behaviour has changed. Good brands and well known products are now what the customer demands. The consumer is looking for quality and energysaving products.

What have been the biggest challenges as a supplier?

In Australia, we are geographically far away from our factories and key component suppliers. We need to plan in advance because it takes time to get the components in. It can take up to two months to receive what we need. With COVID-19, we have been fortunate that it was over our Winter time which has traditionally been a lean season. In the US, they are struggling to keep up with demand because they are already into Summer. Procurement is based on forecasting and lead time. We can’t just order 200 pumps and hope they sell. We have systems in place with the team continuously running demand and forecasting.

“The market is far more tech savvy. In Australia, Internet of Things (IoT) is a big thing. Everything is based on an app and home automation is the new word. We will see a lot of changes in the coming years.”

With COVID-19, we had a few issues because some supplies were coming from Europe and Europe went into total lockdown, so that really affected the supply chain. America and Europe are really struggling because of the demand. With everyone working from home, the backyard pool becomes hugely important. So that’s why supply chain is our biggest challenge, as well as raw material cost increases. The dollar keeps fluctuating.

We manufacture pumps and most of our equipment is assembled here in Australia. Pricing is a real challenge but it’s all about keeping the overheads low so that the business is profitable. Pentair’s policy is ‘Lean’. This has always been part of our strategy.

What opportunities does the current climate present to suppliers such as Pentair?

During COVID-19, our business has grown due to the situation. We have done very well so far. We have seen good growth this year. It’s also about relationships between my team and customers too. I am proud to say that I have a very good team and they have done a fantastic job.

How do you see the industry pivoting and innovating in the future?

I see the industry pivoting towards energysaving products and being ‘greener’. We need to be mindful about energy consumption, as the cost of energy has gone up so much. If we don’t keep investing into new ‘green’ products and IoT innovation, we will fall behind in the game.

What is on the horizon for Pentair? Do you have any new products in the pipelines?

We want to increase our business and build relationships with our customers. We seek two-way partnerships with our customers. We are changing and innovating which does take time, but we are doing it one step at a time. We build most of our products in-house, which follows Pentair’s guidelines and procedures. Yes, we have a lot of new products in the pipeline. They are mainly in sanitation, energy-saving products and automation solutions. Look out for them in the market soon.